Social Justice Archive Curatorial Decisions

We made conscious decisions throughout the exhibit to present the material in a way that does not replicate histories of violence or include materials that are not essential to the purpose of the exhibit. These decisions include:

• Using full titles and dates when creating an item's metadata, so as to preserve its scholarly value while removing any personal agency in titles or racist language.
• Joining the two book cover pages, so that the inclusion of Spivak's novel cover including racial slurs could not be taken out of context.
• Including the footer at bottom of every page reminding the audience that the use of outdated language was not our creation.
• Choosing not to include the most violent images of the prison conditions so as not to make a spectacle of the issue.

For more information on this subject, please visit the John L. Spivak collection finding aid on the Harry Ransom Center's website.